Highmark restoration staff fog a Prior Lake Fire station locker room with an antimicrobial cleaner. The cleaning agent has been approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency as 99.9% effective against the coronavirus.

A Highmark restoration van sits in front of Prior Lake Fire Station No. 2 during an early morning cleaning of the station. Highmark has donated free cleanings of both stations as firefighters continue to work during the coronavirus outbreak.

Prior Lake fire stations get daily cleaning thanks to local donation

Highmark restoration staff fog a Prior Lake Fire station locker room with an antimicrobial cleaner. The cleaning agent has been approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency as 99.9% effective against the coronavirus.

Photo courtesy of Jim Moras, Highmark Companies.

A Highmark restoration van sits in front of Prior Lake Fire Station No. 2 during an early morning cleaning of the station. Highmark has donated free cleanings of both stations as firefighters continue to work during the coronavirus outbreak.

Prior Lake’s two fire stations are getting daily chemical cleanings to help protect against the coronavirus thanks to a donation by a local building and exterior company.

Jim Moras, a partner at the Savage-based Highmark Companies, said that he and other employees are friends with several of the city’s volunteer firefighters.

When they heard about that the firefighters were being switched from volunteer to a duty crew — where firefighters work shifts to stay at the station and cut down on response times — they decided to lend some help.

“The last thing we want them to worry about is are we all going to cross-contaminate or are we all going to be at risk of potentially passing the coronavirus on,” Moras said.

“It’s a wonderful donation to us,” Prior Lake Fire Chief Rick Steinhaus said. “It’s nice to know we’re not leaving it in our stations, tracking it around and bringing it home to our families.”

A branch of Highmark specializes in cleaning homes and work sites. With the help of Burnsville’s Northern Tool and Equipment, it repurposed some equipment to use an antimicrobial fog approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Environmental Protection Agency.

According to a release by the city, the same process is being used to medical facilities, airlines and day care centers to clean essential, high-traffic spaces. The fog reportedly clears an area of 99.9% of the virus after 30 minutes.

Moras said the cleanings would normally cost about 15 to 18 cents a square foot for each treatment.

“I think these little things are what we all need to do as a community to get through it,” he said.